The Hobbit : The 1977 Animated Classic

It does note in the description (barely) that the Blu-Ray is from Spain. If you look closely at the DVD cover art or back, you will see it in Spanish. However, do not worry - it has an English (the movie original) soundtrack as well as a Spanish soundtrack. The recording - both sound and picture - are very clear. It is faithful to the book in style, as compared to that trilogy abomination. It is definitely made for kids, with many of the songs in the book actually made into music here. I still remember when I saw this as a kid. A great DVD to own.

Watched this movie since I was 9 years old. Thank you

When comparing this version to the new, and hopefully more complete, version as yet in the process of being relieased, it can, at times, seem a bit brief and choppy... The speed with which it moves through the story is, by comparrison, remarkably quick, and can seem to lack Lots of backstory... but for 1977, and for decades afterward, This Was the deffinitive version of the hobbit!As someone who grew up with it, I found the brevity to only inspire my own imagination as to the possible reasons, and even now, certain phrases, images, and sounds Stick in my Subconscious in ways I've never really completely appreciated...A level of subtlety which I've only recently come to realise when noticing a handfull of 'sound effect omissions' from This Version... For instance, while the 'sound' is made elsewhere, there's something about that weird 'dying scream' noise that the spiders originally gave time and again that has haunted me for Years... I can remember as a kid, wondering just why they spun around and around (when they died) and the sound has never left my mind...Other similar sounds, such as the arrows bouncing off of Smaug's chest during the battle, I am also comming to realise, have become Strong Memories in my mind... made most conspicuous in this version by the one or two omissions...Indeed, Visually, but More So, AUDITORALLY This Is the one that marks my memory So Well.Sound Effects aside, the MUSIC of this version is Stunning, Deffinitive, and So Completely Perfect in Every Way, I find myself Continually Disappointed and Underwhelmed by Any Other Interpretation!Tolkien is known for using song in his work, and essentially ALL of the musical lyrics come directly from the text, yet Every Single Version of the songs presented here have become, in essence, the ONLY Versions of their work which I can Really Totally Enjoy.Indeed, much of the story is presented in abbreviated form Through the Use of Song, and thus, part after part I find myself not only singing along with, but remembering afterward.The animation too is intriguing in that it is familliar also to those who went on to watch 'the thundercats' and similar animation from later years, which - in my mind - can be seen to SLOWLY Morph into the sorts of Deffining Styles of Anime to come some 20 years later...Backgrounds, costumes, voices, music... the Essential Materials of This version are, in my opinion, the BEST Possible interpretations... Indeed, the Only Fault I find later on is the brevity and quickness with which it runs through the story we have all now discovered to be so very much deeper and more complicated...Nevertheless, to my mind, and indeed perhaps to all children who grew up with this version alone, This Marks the deffining backdrop of sound, texture, and tone which has come to underpin All of my future experiences with Tolkien... While the second of the series is conspicuous most in its failure to so completely do so, This version is, without a doubt, one to Never Be Left Out of the overall story...While I'd love to get the Truely Complete and Original version with ALL the sounds I remember, and the wish to see a more in depth telling, in the same style, may never come to fruition... the ability to purchase a copy in Digital form that I can both easily replay, and quickly scan for my favorites, nevertheless makes the purchase price well worth it to my mind.Years from now, I may just Begin my children's introduction to Tolkien with it... as a more textured, mystical, and quintessential version, to my mind, does Not Exist!!

Ahead of Peter Jackson by at least two decades, the crew of Rankin/Bass decided to take a break from holiday specials or tokusatsu movies and put together this, the first ever animated production based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit was a prelude to The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and Rankin/Bass created this made-for-TV movie which aired a year prior to Ralph Bakshi's Rings theatrical animated feature(which only covered most of the first two books). Rankin/Bass later went on to do another TV movie based on Return Of The King, which alot of rumors state was done to finish up where Bakshi's film left off, but according to R/B was really intended as a followup to their version of The Hobbit. Like some of their other productions, Rankin/Bass did this in association with a Japanese studio, in this case Topcraft(aka: Studio Ghibli).The movie is a pretty faithful adaptation of the original novel. Bilbo Baggins is an average Hobbit, a race of short humanoids that live in the quiet area of Hobbiton(or "Shire")in the mythical land of Middle Earth. He gets drafted into a quest with the drifter wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves to be their lucky number as a burglar. Thorin is their leader, and is taking them to Lonely Mountain in order to reclaim their treasure stolen generations ago by the evil dragon, Smaug. Along the way, they run afoul of trolls, but Gandalf(on one of his many coffee breaks away from the party)saves them, and leads them to Rivendell to meet up with the elf lord Elrond. Bilbo and the dwarves are later on captured by goblins(or "orcs"), but Bilbo falls down a whole into a dark underground cavern where he runs across the froglike creature Gollum. Bilbo happens upon a magic ring that makes him invisible when he wears it, and uses it to follow Gollum to an exit. He rejoins his friends and frees them, but only for them to be captured again by giant spiders. Bilbo liberates them again, but they are in turn caught again by wood-elves(or "silvan elves"). Invinsibly, the phantom Hobbit manages to get the dwarves to the lake town near Lonely Mountain. The treasure hunters then go to Smaug's pad, and Bilbo is elected to go burgal something out of there. Using his inviso-power, Bilbo manages to gander at the overgrown reptile to find he has a small patch in his scaly armor, but his presence ticks Smaug off, and he heads to the lake town for some serious Godzilla-on-Tokyo action. Bilbo sends a bird to give the head of the lake town Smaug's design flaw, and the big lizard gets arrow'd once and for all. The story concludes with an epic battle of five armies feuding over the treasure, which with Gandalf's help ends about as peaceably as at could. Bilbo heads back to Hobbiton/Shire unaware that this part of the story is only the beginning.This TV movie has become the stuff of legend, winning the Christopher Award, a Peabody, and was nominated for a Hugo Award. It features some of the amazing character designs Rankin/Bass has used in both its 2D and 3D productions, most of which for this film were inspired by the illustrations of Arthur Rackham. The best is the all star cast employed for this, including Orson Bean as Bilbo, John Huston as Gandalf, and Richard Boone completely dominates his role as Smaug. For a 70s TV production, there is some breathtaking animation, far beyond what you would've seen in even a Disney movie. The Hobbit is available on VHS and DVD, plus a special films set with The Lord Of The Rings and Return Of The King animated movies.